New Assistant Psychology Professor Michaela Quintero's love for AU like a Hallmark movie

If you like Hallmark movies, then you will really enjoy this article.

It’s a love story between a college, Ashland University, and its new full-time psychology instructor, Michaela Quintero, who, by the way, loves watching Hallmark movies.

“That is my Christmas tradition,” Quintero said with a big smile.

Instead of watching this Hallmark-like story, Quintero is the star, starting with her first visit to Ashland last spring to interview for her assistant professor job at AU.

“I loved it immediately,” she said. “It just felt like a Hallmark town.”

In many Hallmark movies, the main character often returns to a “Hallmark town” and rekindles an old romance.

Since Quintero hadn’t been to Ohio before, it’s not that kind of story. She grew up in Modesto, California, and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University – Stanislaus.

Other Hallmark main characters often take a vacation or move from a big city and a busy lifestyle to a more relaxed life in a smaller “Hallmark town” they have never been before.

That’s more like Quintero’s story since she not only grew up in a bigger area (Modesto has a population of about 218,000, in Stanislaus County, which has a little more than 564,000 people) but also lived in Lubbock, Texas (population of around 260,000) to work on her Ph.D. at Texas Tech University before coming to Ashland (just under 20,000 residents in the city and just over 52,000 in the county).

“That took four years to complete going full time, including summers, so it was pretty intensive,” Quintero said about earning her doctorate degree in human development and family sciences.

Originally, Quintero, whose degrees from California State – Stanislaus were in child development, wanted to be an elementary teacher.

“After I got my master’s, the faculty at that school asked me if I wanted to adjunct for their night courses,” said Quintero, who was a long-term substitute elementary teacher at that time. “So, I was teaching little ones during the day and then college students at night, and I just fell in love with the college classroom.

“That’s what got me thinking about teaching college students full time,” she added. “Then I realized to do that full time, I needed my Ph.D.”

Finding an adviser with her same research interests led Quintero to Texas Tech in Lubbock for her Ph.D.

For her dissertation on math anxiety, Quintero did a lot of research on math testing anxiety, as well as academic achievement and motivation with help from undergraduate students. She collected data from lab tests she conducted on a little more than 200 students in the Lubbock area for three years, starting when they were in fourth grade until they were sixth-graders.

“We were studying the development of their emotions toward math anxiety,” she said. “What we found is the important role math motivation and math engagement play in achievement outcomes for math-anxious students.”

So, we have the busy main character (Quintero) going to a new place. In a number of Hallmark movies, that might mean Quintero develops a love interest with a prince, king or someone with some other royal title after a chance meeting.

It was by chance that AU had a job Quintero said she knew she would love, and the university does have an impressive history like a royal family has.

In researching for her interview, Quintero was impressed with everything she discovered about AU, particularly its “Accent on the Individual.”

“I liked how a lot of the information I found had to do with their work with undergrad students, so it just felt that their mindset was student-centered,” Quintero said. “That’s what I was looking for from an institution.

“I had come from a research-heavy program and not a whole lot of focus on teaching,” she added. “So, coming to Ashland and hearing about all the work they do with undergraduates and their support of undergraduates was just green flags for me.”

Still, like most Hallmark movies, the visitor to the “Hallmark town” has to overcome some obstacles to find true love, often having to win over a potential mother- or father-in-law or protective friend.

For her true love in her personal life, she didn’t have to win anyone over and had a Hallmark-type wedding planned in her hometown, where her husband also is from, but ended up getting married in a Texas courthouse in 2020 because of COVID.

“My dad walked me down the aisle on Facetime,” Quintero said. “We just had to make the best of it.

“My research lab showed up at the courthouse, so my adviser was there,” she added. “We felt like a little family.”

But that’s a different Hallmark story for Quintero.

For this Hallmark love story, finding true love in her career, Quintero had to win over Ashland University’s students and faculty.

“I was a little skeptical coming into her class this year knowing she was a new professor here,” said AU student Hallie Eighinger. “But she ended up exceeding my expectation by miles. I love the way she runs her classroom and cares about her students.”

Another student in one of her classes, Zack Van Farowe said Quintero is one of the nicest professors he has had at AU.

“Walking into the classroom, she says hello to every student and makes everyone feel heard during class time,” Van Farowe said. “She is also very smart and clearly knows her field.”

Professor Diane Bonfiglio, Ph.D., said Quintero has been a wonderful addition to the AU Psychology Department.

“Her focus on developmental psychology, especially child development, fills an important need for us since so many of our students are interested in working with children,” said Bonfiglio, the chair of the AU Psychology Department. “Her research focus on anxiety and academic achievement is a topic that our students can really connect with.

“She is an excellent teacher who cares deeply about her students and their learning,” Bonfiglio added. “In addition to all that, she is warm, funny and kind. We are very thankful that Dr. Quintero has joined us at Ashland.”

Because the Ashland University family has accepted her so warmly, because she loves getting to know her students so well with small classes and because she appreciates the great support from fellow faculty, Quintero hopes to stay in her new “Hallmark town” and live happily ever after in her career at AU.

“I can really see myself settling down here,” Quintero said. “It has been fantastic. I love it here. I’m having a really great time.”